Mi-Mi Moscow     Mila Kalnitskaya & Micha Maslennikov

moustache

ACT-8 - "I eat plankton" 2007
mood: Prokofyev – Symphony No 7

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moustache
 
Give me The Sound of Happiness!
Give me The Color of Joy!
Give me The Taste of Wholeness!
Surprise me, show me that which I have not seen, have not heard, have not tasted.
Give me that which does not kill but purifies and raises me from ashes.
If the label on a box says "Freedom", and inside are found screws…
If with the sound of Jericho's horns murderers are marching…
Show me your Heroes who are miserable under the shadow of golden Idols.
Tell me about The Eternal - not in the howl of Wolves but in the whisper of Angels
In the Roar of The Crowd of Free People – to hear a lonely voice of The Once Liberated.
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Heroic stop-sketch opera in 8 acts with an epilogue
 
moustache
When You come into Light You immediately cast A Shadow.
 
 
 
Director: Micha Maslennikov
Production director: Mila Kalnitskaya
Photos: Mi-Mi Moscow (thanks to "Canon" corporation for technical support)
Make-up: Mila Kalnitskaya
Light: The Sun
States and Props: Air, Water, Stone, Fire.
Music: Silence
Choreography: Statics
Libretto: by Micha Maslennikov's text "The ninth life of the cat OR Shadows of Heroes"
 
 
 
CAST:
 
Monologue-Prelude – Micha Maslennikov
ACT 1 - The Birth of the Hero – Micha Maslennikov
ACT 2 - Death of Ferdiad** – Micha Maslennikov
ACT 3 - Silence of Gods – Micha Maslennikov
ACT 4 - The Foxy Miller (Miller The Fox) – Micha Maslennikov
ACT 5 - Sadko on the sea bottom*** – Micha Maslennikov
ACT 6 - In the Desert – Micha Maslennikov
ACT 5 - The Feast of Marauders – Micha Maslennikov
ACT 6 - The Hermit – Micha Maslennikov
Epilogue - Award / Laurels of the Hero – Micha Maslennikov
 
 
Works of Mi-Mi Moscow were used in the action.
 
 
 
 
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LIBRETTO:
 
There is no particular story in this opera, because
 
 
The Fate of any Hero resembles that of those who were there before and those
who will be there after, like two drops of water.
As a rule, The Hero is to be eaten by people of the country and by
grateful descendants.
A Hero is a truly rare and delicious dish.
To cook the Hero to a proper condition it is necessary to keep him in
an unstable position in a dark and cold place.
It is recommended to not give food and drink to The Hero for minimum
20-30 years before use.
Lack of love, respect and nutrition which is followed by increase of adrenalin
level in his blood serves him only good.
At the same time layers of fat burn themselves out from inside.
And thoughts about the inevitable end make him more humble and easy to
deal with, which doesn't contradict the international standards of healthy nutrition.
He is to be marinated in his own juice,
spiced with some laurel,
and served with plenty of sweet sauce.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Frying is not recommended, because The Hero is only to be eaten alive,
cut in small pieces and dipped in balsamic vinegar.
Chew The Hero slowly, enjoy the taste and the aftertaste.
 
Actually, the real aftertaste you can only appreciate the next day after the meal.
After waking up, you feel an incredible boost of all your life energies.
You are young, strong and beautiful. Your smile is most charming.
Your teeth are like pearls, your legs are light and always ready to walk.
You are throbbing afire with desire to live and feel the wonder of this life!
You are 20, and everything, everything lies ahead.
Furthermore, after a while you come to a clear realization that all those heroic
deeds which were described in the menu of the Hero, were performed not by Him,
some poor bastard, but by You Yourself! Yes, You! And that's You
who is the righteous heir of all these Heroic Glorious Deeds
which songs and legends are talking about!
 
And You have the right to buy Yourself a Big Beautiful Order sigil and bear it with pride!
For the rest of your life!
 
And You're not gonna be eaten, because You are the real "Hero" and
That's You Who's Got It! The ORDER SIGIL!
 
 
 
 
 
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WHY?
 
Why opera?
If we'd say "because of Boldness and Self-Confidence" – that would sound like
repeating George Gershwin's words.
If we'd say "Sarcasm and Taking The Piss" – that would be aiming at Bertolt Brecht.
Opera "Moustache" is an opera of silence and keeping silence.
One could say that "They sing in the opera or at least they play some music", but
It is not quite like this.
An opera is, first and foremost, a composition of artistic means,
And if one of these means is in the way of achieving the main goal,
it needs to be transformed into something else or excluded.
That was exactly what we did.
Purposely we excluded the sound, while keeping the impression of sound as
a recommendation
Purposely, we switched off movements; this stretches perception and reduces
the action to stop-frame images.
Purposefully, we cleansed the stage of any unnecessary objects, with only one
actor left.
One actor – this is a most powerful message of multilevel perception of life.
 
Why an Opera?
We do know that this is an opera, and that's what it is, it is not a performance,
it is not a series of photos, but the Opera.
To argue is of no use, even if your perception of opera differs dramatically from
that of ours.
 
Everything is in progress all the time, and today Opera came to visit
the territory of Statics and Silence.
Why not?
She will stand here silent for awhile, and then she will go somewhere else.
We invited her and she kindly accepted.
 
"The Hero and The Society", "The Hero and The Anti-Hero", "The Hero and The Marauder".
Why do people call one person "a Hero", and another person "an Evil-Doer"
What is this force which brings one to the path of a Hero, and doesn't bring another one?
And what is it that makes One Hero challenge Another Hero?
 
Why does Ferdiad agree to fight Cuchulainn?**
Following his own wish? – BUT HE DOESN'T WANT TO FIGHT HIM!
So what makes him to take this step?
Public opinion?
And if Yes, how far can it expand in its desires?
Is it ME who's thinking this, or is it Somebody Else thinking instead of me?
Who stands behind this?
Public Opinion, what kind of a beast is this?
Who is The Main Author and The Conductor of our desires?
And, why it is always neither the Hero nor the Anti-Hero
But… the Marauder, who's drinking the Wine of Somebody Else's Victory?
 
Why out of numerous variety of Life Scenarios People keep persistently choosing only One?
Is it Your Choice, Ours, Mine or Somebody Else's?
 
 
 
 
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2007. Dacha in Aprelevka. Moscow. Russia
mi-mi moscow
 
Translation by
Yana Tsoy & Steven Brayshaw.

 
 
 
 
 
 
* Vladimir Vavilov (5 May 1925 – 3 November 1973)
Russian composer, author of many masterpieces, including:
KANZONA by Francesco da Milano,
AVE MARIA by Giulio Caccini, ...
 
 
** Cuchulainn and Ferdiad – ancient Irish heroes.
 
 
*** Sadko – Russian epic hero.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



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